Today, the Spotlight again shines on media artist Tamiko Thiel, in the second of our two-part conversation.

In our first talk, we explored Tamiko's journey from designing the world's first AI supercomputer in the eighties to becoming a pioneering media artist. Today, we dive deeper into her groundbreaking work in virtual reality and other philosophical matters.

Tamiko's been creating immersive digital worlds since the mid-1990s when she worked with Steven Spielberg on a virtual space for seriously ill children. We'll talk about her project, Beyond Manzanar, which became the first VR artwork purchased by a major American museum, and how she uses emerging technologies to address political and environmental issues.

–

Dig Deeper

• Visit Tamiko Thiel at tamikothiel.com
• Follow Tamiko Thiel on Bluesky, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Beyond Manzanar
• Beyond Manzanar (demo)
• Starbright – VR Playscape For Hospitalized Kids
• Zara Houshmand
• Japanese Americans at Manzanar
• “Moving a Body through Space”: An Interview with Tamiko Thiel
• AI Causes Real Harm. Let’s Focus on That over the End-of-Humanity Hype
• Dig into this episode's complete show notes at spotlightonpodcast.com

–

• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate Spotlight On ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

• Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of Spotlight On in your podcast app of choice.

• Looking for more? Visit spotlightonpodcast.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Spotlight On email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

• Be sure to bookmark our new online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.